BK2 scout carry style question from a new guy

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ocnLogan

Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
3,488
well, after lurking here for a while, I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and join up. This is both my first post, and my first thread here :).

I got my first Becker (BK2) a few weeks ago, and unfortunately have not had the time to go out and use it properly (working two jobs right now). Don't worry though, it's going to be a "user". When I got the knife, I was impressed with it and how solid it felt, without feeling overly heavy in my hand.

Sadly though, the sheath that came with it was less than perfect (dulled the blade, and the snap for the loop that goes over the handle was split in half). Because of some reading I had done here on the forum, I decided to contact KA-BAR about the issues to see if they would send out a replacement... turns out, they did just that(treating a first time customer well, in my book, goes a long way towards getting repeat business from said customer). The new sheath is currently en route.

Because of these facts, as well as the fact that I was now going to have two sheaths for the BK2, I decided that I would rig the current sheath up for scout carry, and the new one being sent out in a drop leg style. Now, I've never worked with parachute cord before, but I gave it my best shot, and I honestly think that it turned out all right, and looks fairly "classy". I'm happy with it, and thats all that matters in my book. Also, you'll notice that I haven't quite finished it up, but all I need to do is decide how I want to tie it off and I'm done.

And as I understand it... around here, "pics or it didn't happen" and if I don't, I'm to expect moose tracks on my lawn... right?



Now finally, the question that I have for all of you beckerheads out there. When I actually used the sheath above, the only issue I had was that because the BK2 is such a "sturdy" knife, the handle of the knife tended to point towards the ground by a few degrees. So my question is, when (or if) you carry your BK2 scout style, how did you address the fact that the handle tends to want to point towards the ground? Do you simply laugh at the noobie that tries to carry such a manly knife horizontally? Do you have secret knife wielding techniques taught to you by moose himself? I'm not sure, I just want to see how you guys did this.

The only way that I can think to fix this problem is to mount something with weight on the very tip of the sheath (a multitool for instance) to help counter weight the heavy handle of the knife, but I want to see how you guys handled this problem, if at all.
 
Welcome!!! Glad you stopped by and hope you stay a while. I had the same problem hen I tried to rig my stock sheath for my BK2 and came to a physics problem. A custom leather scout sheath like what MyWifeThinksImCrazy makes, the straps are placed as to balance the blade. Meaning one of the straps is near the very center of the knife. With this support it keeps the blade level. Basically, the stock sheath cannot be made into a scout sheath, but a scout sheath will work with the BK2. Hope this helps!!
 
Try bolting on nylon webbing for your belt loops with chicago screws. The problem is the knife handle has alot of weight so you need something with less give to support it and also make sure you loops are super tight, im talking just enough room to slip your belt through with zero play, or it will tilt toward the handle side. Good luck
 
clich said:
Try bolting on nylon webbing for your belt loops with chicago screws. The problem is the knife handle has alot of weight so you need something with less give to support it and also make sure you loops are super tight, im talking just enough room to slip your belt through with zero play, or it will tilt toward the handle side. Good luck
Click to expand...

My problem wasnt the 550 cord, it was my belt and pants drooping. And I wear a rigger's belt, built to withstand repelling... its a stiff tough belt
 
Thanks for the response Jared, and also, thank you for your service over there, its appreciated :).

So what you are saying is basically what I found out. That basically the stock sheath does not have enough mounting points to reach the knifes center of gravity? Alas, it is as I feared...

Unfortunately I don't have the spare cash at the moment to pick up a custom made sheath (grad school student, which also means my posting here might be sporadic during the semesters, although I do plan to stick around), so I'll just have to make do with what I have right now.

clitch - I did find that tightening the straps seemed to help quite a bit, thanks for the tip. Also, like you said, I found that perhaps all I needed was a stiffer belt, because part of the problem is the leather in the belt deflecting.

Has anyone tried either counterbalancing the knife with something attached to the tip end (my gerber multitool is what I have in mind there), or come up with a way to make a strap come past the first part of the grip?
 
The only thought I had was a retention strap made of shock cord (bungee) around the end of the handle. That wouldnt work for me though. I kinda like to have a quick deployment on my knives. A weight on the end would just add to the weight your belt is already trying to keep up. The best solution is spreading out the weight.
 
I honestly didn't have much of an issue with the belt being too heavy. I mean, I did notice the extra weight, and I did have to tighten it up a bit extra to keep it from drooping, but it wasn't the end of the world.

I'm the same way though, I don't think I could make the bungee cord work, it would drive me nuts. I like my knife to be available when I need it. I don't want to have to figure out how to get it out of the sheath that I've made when I need it. Thats all personal preference though.

Also, so there isn't really a good place to make more attachment points near the grip of the knife, but what about something at the other end of the sheath? I guess it might look a little weird, but it would at least help distribute the load over more places, which should help stabilize the knife.
 
You could try to add a multi tool, or maybe even a pouch of some kind to keep some extra little gear into help the balance. What kind of multi tool do you have? Does the sheath have holes for lashing?
 
One of the things that might work better is a large tek lock. From what I have seen, if you drill out the rivets on the loop plate, they fit one perfectly, and allow you to get a little further up the blade, which in turn should be more balanced.
 
Thanks warrior, I really like what you did to your stock sheath. The one that is coming in the mail will get semi-similar treatment. In fact, yours was the inspiration behind the drop leg sheath idea. However, I do think mine will be a bit different. I like to keep things relatively low profile (I hate things catching on stuff when I'm out moving about), so I'll see what I can do to make it a bit thinner (the fact that I don't have a BK14 should help with that ;)).

clitch, I've had a Gerber 400 "compact sport" multitool for about 12 years now. The sheath is just standard run of the mill goes through a belt loop style webbing on the back.
 
When I get sometime tonight to actually look at my stock sheath see if I can come up with something. That is if you don't already do so by then with these guys helping out
 
ocnLogan said:
Thanks warrior, I really like what you did to your stock sheath. The one that is coming in the mail will get semi-similar treatment. In fact, yours was the inspiration behind the drop leg sheath idea. However, I do think mine will be a bit different. I like to keep things relatively low profile (I hate things catching on stuff when I'm out moving about), so I'll see what I can do to make it a bit thinner (the fact that I don't have a BK14 should help with that ;)).

clitch, I've had a Gerber 400 "compact sport" multitool for about 12 years now. The sheath is just standard run of the mill goes through a belt loop style webbing on the back.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I don't have my 14 on there anymore. I have it in my EDC bag now. The ESEE pouch does stick out quite a ways however.
 
Thanks guys, I've really been appreciating both the warm welcome, as well as the great ideas.

I'm working on coming up with something right now, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Like I said, I'm new to all of this stuff.

Not to say that I'm new to everything, I've got a fair amount of woods experience in under my belt(mostly from scouting and rock crawling), but nothing like what some of you guys have. I did however laugh when I ran into Ethans challenge about making a spoon from a while back. I've done that one as well... but it was so my friends and I could get the stew out of the dutch oven that night (someone dropped the ball on a packing checklist). I actually made it with my hatchet and my gerber 400. Wasn't pretty, but it worked.

I'm also not new to forums. My forum name "ocnLogan" is actually from my other forum that I am a part of (Overclock.net... aka, OCN where my username is logan).

Also, I'm working on ideas for the drop sheath as well. I'm thinking I would like some sort of container on the sheath, but like warrior said, the ESEE pouch seems to stick out a bunch. Has anyone ever tried to make a "net" or something out of shock cord or para cord and attach something like a shoe polish or altoids container?

Thanks again for the help guys, and yes, I plan to stick around, this place is great.
 
Tek Lok was going to be my suggestion as well, though not before complimenting you on your 550 weave. It's just that the paracord will always have a fair amount of give no matter how tight you weave it and/or tie it to the sheath. The Tek Lok can easily go from horizontal to vertical to mounting on MOLLE attachments or almost anywhere. In case you're not familiar with Tek Lok, here's a random vid I landed on in a search that demonstrates it pretty well.

I don't think I'm supposed to link to outside sales of them, but if you Google "tek lok" you'll find 'em easy enough. They're made by BladeTech. You can get 'em hardware and all, including shipping, for 20 bones or so. Sounds like you would also benefit from a good gun belt. An "average" one-ply belt will fold under the weight of a BK2. A decent gun belt will last you the rest of your life probably, and it's two-ply, bull-leather construction will hold the weight without folding or deforming. If you can't afford a gun belt, go to a western wear store and get a heavier-duty belt than they sell at Penny's or Sears or wherever. Another 20 - 30 bucks. 40 - 50 bucks total and you'd be set to carry that beast any way you want with no sagging or belt deformation.

Welcome to the forums. Stick around and you'll learn the second rule; one picture is never enough!

Blues
 
You obviously got the same feeling that I did when I joined up. Hope to welcome you to the Beckerheads one day too, post pics whenever you get your final setup complete.
 
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There is a pic someone did. You can rotate the lock 90 degrees and it would still fit from what I know of them. Haven't actually gotten ahold of one yet.
 
BlueStringer - Thanks for the suggestion of the new belt, I was wondering if there was a way to get a stiffer belt. However, once again, due to budget constraints, I don't know if I'll be able to get that, or the Tek Lok any time soon. However, they do look pretty sweet.

And also... so pics or it didn't happen, and LOTS of pics, or it wasn't cool? Is that how this works? :P.

Right now I've added another loop at the end of the sheath to help counteract the torque that the handle is putting on the belt. It seems to be helping so far, as I've been wearing it this way as I've been cleaning the apartment and have almost forgotten is there.

Does anyone actually wear their BK2 like this normally, or because of the weight, do most people wear it on the hip or drop leg style?

Once again, thanks for the help guys.
 
I like mine drop leg, simply because for me, it's easier to get out of the sheath.
 
If you stick around and earn your bh# ill gift you something that will really help with your scout carry issues....
 
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